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Design Dilemma Home Decorating living room

HELP! Furniture Layout for Basement Living Room with Fireplace and TV?

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

We are new homeowners (pardon the bareness and mess) and have this basement TV room which seems like it should be cozy and home theater/living room amazing, but it just feels like a garage. We just have a couple of pieces in it now to make it livable, but we can purchase the exact furniture and trimmings for this space to make it just right. The big chair is the only thing that we want to keep. However, it is a very strange, nook ridden, long, low ceiling 7', narrow room with one entrance, and I just can't figure it out. We love building a fire in the fireplace and watching a movie, that's the main activity for this room, so having two separate areas for the fireplace and the TV doesn't feel right. We like entertaining, so extra seating is welcome.

The previous owner was a contractor and built a specific nook for the TV (a big box style TV from the early 90s I'd imagine), however, this means that the TV is pretty much stuck being in that corner, unless I were to block out the nook with a tapestry or whatnot, but I would want a good reason to do that. It is currently on an arm swivel installed into the wall, and I was going to put tapestry style curtains on the wall to cover the old holes for the old speakers.

The little nook between the fireplace and the TV has become the wood storage and makes sense for that, so that at least, is taken care of. Whew!

Any ideas are welcome!

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Comments (5)

havingfun
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
early thoughts. move tv to the wall where the couch is? face couch or appropriate chairs towards the tv. appropriat chairs or couch to fireplace. lets go with 2 rugs, with lighter brighter colors. maybe install shelves in the hole?

7' x 9' Area Rugs | Joss & Main · More Info

Shez Teal/Sun Indoor Area Rug & Reviews | AllModern · More Info

i have many more, but do not know your style or color preferences. let me know i will toss these and get others.
elinoree thanked havingfun
elinoree
Original Author
6 years ago
Great ideas @havingfun! Thank You!

It's funny, we started physically moving some things around down there, and I'm starting to think the TV should indeed go on the far wall. I'm just worried about it creating a black hole at the end of this long room.

Are you suggesting dividing the room into two sections? Like a TV section and a fireplace section? "face couch or appropriate chairs towards the tv. appropriate chairs or couch to fireplace" and then a rug in each section?

I like Bohemian, vintage, rustic, industrial styles I think. I liked the first and third rug you suggested. Maybe light bright rugs and warm darker furniture? We really like the idea of leather sofa/s, like the kind with the nailheads. We have cats and friends, so any anti-stain, non-fur grabbing furniture is what we are looking for.
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I suggest grouping whatever living room furniture you buy around the fireplace. It is what I did in my long living room (mine is wider than yours). Here are some layout suggestions: Before you buy any furniture, make sure you have the room to lay it out something similar to the above suggestions. Put tape on the floor, if you have to and make sure you have enough room to walk around the furniture. You can also try Basset Furniture and/or La-Z-Boy showrooms. They can help you with furniture arrangement and they do not charge you, like a designer does. For the TV, you could either get an entertainment center that will fit right or left of the fireplace or your could even mount your TV on the wall (I have 2 TV's that are wall mounted and I love it). When I was getting ready to move into my house 3 years ago, I needed brand new living room, dining room, and family room furniture. I shopped sales and I found my 2 sofas that are in my living room first at a furniture store selling La-Z-Boy furniture. I got lucky! The sofas were on sale for over 60% off and after choosing them, everything else fell into place. For the family room, I went to a La-Z-Boy showroom, found a reclining sofa I loved, and it was also on sale. I choose soft, neutral colors for it and two rocking recliners. We use this room to relax and watch movies on our big TV in the family room. I also suggest looking at rooms on Houzz and see what appeals to you, in style and color.
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havingfun
6 years ago
i am with you in your choices and my thought was to divi the room up. you even have an area for child play if young, or a table and chairs for regular games and snacks. I think i would put a book shelf and music listening eqpt by the fireplace.

I threw away the other rugs, now looking for 2 which would correspond to the first two you like.

Modern Area Rugs | AllModern · More Info

7' x 9' Area Rugs | Joss & Main · More Info

Bashian Rugs Ashland Aqua Area Rug | AllModern · More Info

the other rug

Tayse Expressions Area Rugs - EXP1517 Traditional Oriental Cream Curves Medallio · More Info

Shez Teal/Sun Indoor Area Rug & Reviews | AllModern · More Info

Navy Blue 5' x 8' Eclat Rug | Area Rugs | eSaleRugs · More Info

Shez Teal/Sun Indoor Area Rug & Reviews | AllModern · More Info

Feizy 6163597FMAZ000 Caslon Maize Area Rug | ATG Stores · More Info
let me know
elinoree
Original Author
6 years ago
Wow, that's quite the selection of rugs, Thank you!

After talking with my partner, he's not a fan of dividing the room into two sections, even though it might make design sense. Mostly it's just he and I in the house (we don't have any kids) and we would never go down in the basement to just sit in front of the fire. We also have a fireplace upstairs in the dining room and that's where we tend to just sit.

Also, if we put the TV at the far end of the room, when it is off, it's just a big black rectangle; so at the end of a narrow room I fear it will just create a big black black hole. So, back to the drawing board! At least we have some fun rug ideas!
havingfun
6 years ago
ok, then we can set it up to all be in front of the tv. we can put this across from the fireplace and have everything face the tv. the fireplace would just keep you warm.
Living Room · More Info

set up like this except i would put a chair on each side unless you need the space. Here is a good leather sofa.. $3000, way over my diet.
Larkin Cigar 88" Wide Top Grain Leather Sofa - #14K26 | Lamps Plus · More Info

More Like This | World Market · More Info
with like two of these perhaps?

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